#UseMeInstead: Ministers & Priests Send In Their Pics To Replaces Photos Of Black Men Used As Target Practice By Florida Officers

Clergy Members Send In Their Pictures To Replace Pics Of Black Men Used For Target Practice By Florida Police

When National Guard Sgt. Valerie Deant arrived at a shooting range in Medley, Florida for annual weapons qualifications training in December, she was expecting a typical military exercise. But as she readied for target practice, she noticed several bullet-hole-ridden mug shots of young black men hanging near the range, left behind by the North Miami Beach Police snipers who had just finished using the facilities. That alone was enough to frustrate Deant, but she suddenly came to an even more horrifying realization: one of the pictures was of her brother.

Over the past few weeks, dozens of priests, ministers, and seminarians — including celebrated progressive Christian author and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber — have protested the actions of the North Miami Beach Police Department by using a Facebook page…